Written by

Staff writer

WHAT’S UP ROC

Nightlife evolves. And tucked into a long block between Andrews and St. Paul streets, the St. Paul Quarter is an entertainment district that may be on the verge of transition.

Yet the St. Paul Quarter — a set of turn-of-the-last-century buildings and warehouses, converted into restaurants and nightclubs drawing diverse audiences — also seems to be one of the most thriving sections of the city’s nightlife scene, with live music anchored by Water Street Music Hall, 204 N. Water St.

It seems almost a miracle that such a large and active concert hall can exist in a city of this size, when for years the national live-music scene has been struggling. Water Street’s home is continually evolving, as owner John Chmiel introduces new ideas for the space; the addition of The Club at Water Street in an adjoining room to the main hall a few years ago has given the city one of the cozier spaces for live music.

Water Street Music Hall itself, while maintaining its brick and wood beam charm, was converted into a music venue in 1977, when it was called The Country Warehouse. It’s also been known as The Warehouse, The Horizontal Boogie Bar, The Boogie Bar and, since 1999, Water Street Music Hall.

It has survived as other ideas have failed. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that the large neon “MUSIC HALL” sign on the corner of the building appeared. Chmiel bought that from the old Jillian’s nightclub after the demise of the nearby High Falls Entertainment District.

Acts courted by Water Street: New Found Glory May 17; Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra May 19; and the real thing, the former Dead drummer’s The Mickey Hart Band May 23. Reach Water Street at (585) 325-5600.

The St. Paul Quarter includes one of the city’s longstanding treasures, Tapas 177 Lounge, 177 St. Paul St., (585) 262-2090, high-end food in a very Euro atmosphere, with free salsa lessons on Thursdays and a live salsa band, also free, on Saturdays. Scotland Yard, 187 St. Paul St., (585) 730-5030, is a quieter, restfully dark place to stop on the weekdays for a beer; it’s not so quiet on the weekends.

Just north is one of the city’s newest and more high-profile additions. The Genesee Brew House, 25 Cataract St., is a 9,200-square-foot entertainment center with food, a bar and a museum right next to the Genesee brewery, run by North American Breweries. The Brew House’s outdoor deck offers one of the most stunning views of the High Falls area. (585) 263-9200.

The East End

The East End’s signature event remains the three East End Music Festivals, filling the closed-off streets with music and beer drinkers for one evening each in June, July and August. It came under fire last summer from neighbors who want to see the entertainment district evolve more of a retail soul. The festival’s organizers have responded by dialing back to just one night, June 14, although that does not appear to be enough for some folks, who have been circulating a petition to completely abolish the longtime event. It’s hoped that booking a few national bands, rather than relying on local acts, might give it a bit more of a music-festival feel, rather than the beers-in-the-street rep that it now carries.

Temple Bar & Grille, 109 East Ave., (585) 232-6000, often features live weekend bands. The wondrous, museum-like shop of string things, Bernunzio Uptown Music, 122 East Ave., frequently presents high-end musicians and clinics, often folks who are playing a gig later that evening at another venue. The two most active live music venues in the East are the hard-to-find rock club Montage Music Hall, 50 Chestnut St., south of East Avenue; and The Little, 240 East Ave., (585) 232-3906. The five-screen movie theater usually has music five nights a week in its café.

For beer, try Salinger’s, 107 East Ave., (585) 546-6880. For wings and occasional rock bands, visit the rejuvenated Richmond’s, 21 Richmond St., (585) 454-4612. For that demographic known as young professionals, there is Easy on East, 170 East Ave., (585) 325-6490. Smokers chased from public venues by New York’s anti-smoking laws can still find solace in a few select clubs. Downtown, it’s Havana Moe’s, 125 East Ave., (585) 325-1030, with a well-stocked humidor and sometimes Eastman School of Music students playing jazz.

Technically not in the East End, but a short walk away, is Abilene Bar & Lounge, 153 Liberty Pole Way, (585) 232-3230. With a jukebox loaded with Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin and locals such as the Hi-Risers, and live music reflecting that spirit, it is a place for owner Danny Deutsch and friends to gaze into their beers and express their love of American roots music. Deutsch’s gutsy bookings have made it a serious live downtown venue. It will be a tight fit, but upcoming shows include its nine days as the Americana Roots Stage at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival June 21 to 29 and a July 29 show with Eric Taylor.

Alexander Street

This neighborhood has dubbed itself “The Upper East End,” although to most casual map observers it’s actually a little south of the East End. It’s a concentration of youth-oriented bars at the intersection of Alexander Street and East Avenue, anchored by two with outstanding selections of beers: Murphy’s Law, 370 East Ave., (585) 232-7115; and the authentic British pub The Old Toad, 277 Alexander St., (585) 232-2626. One Nightclub and Ultra Lounge, 1 Ryan Alley, (585) 546-1010, sometimes offers live hip-hop and DJs, and there’s The Daily Refresher, 293 Alexander St., (585) 360-4627, formerly The Blue Room.

Two significant music venues are a short stroll from that intersection. Dub Land Underground, 315 Alexander St., (585) 232-7550, is an active home to DJs and live hip-hop and groove bands. A welcome newcomer is Skylark Lounge, 40 S. Union St., (585) 270-8106. It’s a genetic descendent of the Bug Jar through owners Casey Walpert and Herman Gatto, who both had connections to the iconic Rochester underground music club. But Skylark Lounge — the former gay club Muther’s — is a bit more above ground. It’s sleek, polished-wood interior is accented with a disco ball, a CD jukebox (no Internet juke for these old-schoolers), shuffle bowling, a Rolling Stones pinball machine and a kitchen menu featuring exciting variations on the food trend of the moment, meatballs. And sporks: Skylark actually has the tableware fusion of spoon and fork.

Monroe Avenue

The Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave., (585) 454-2966, is the city’s premier underground rock club. For two decades now, the tiny but very cool space has been presenting local bands and major acts such as Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire, when they were in their infancy. And sometimes the Bug Jar hits a home run: Don’t miss troubadour Jonathan Richman on June 18 and the ragged electric blues-rock of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on July 14. Mondays is the bar’s trivia night, “Thinkin’ and Drinkin’.”

Across the street, a younger crowd of alternative-music seekers hits the eclectic Lux Lounge, 666 South Ave., (585) 232-9030, which has Day of the Dead imagery to go with its address.

The Beale I, 689 South Ave., (585) 271-4650, offers Memphis-style cuisine and the excellent Thursday-night Son House Blues Night jam. But perhaps the finest open-mike night is a stone’s throw from the “Swedge” with Steve Piper and Bruce Diamond Thursday nights at the Flipside Bar & Grill, 2001 E. Main St., (585) 288-3930. Its walls feature one of the best vinyl-record album-cover collections you will see.

Park Avenue

Young professionals with a little more of an edge may be trying Dragonfly Tavern, 725 Park Ave. (585) 563-6333. It can get loud, but still has the urban-lodge feel of free WiFi and animal heads mounted on the wall. A Park Avenue tiny curio is the Half Pint Pub, 365 Park Ave., (585) 271-6384. No more than 40 people can fit in the place.

Coffeehouse scene

This is the artsy crowd that is increasingly turning to coffeehouses as venues, such as Boulder Coffee Co. There are five of them, and two feature music: South Wedge Boulder, 100 Alexander St., (585) 454-7140; and Park Avenue Boulder, 739 Park Ave., (585) 697-0235. The Tango Café, 389 Gregory St., (585) 271-4930, frequently plays host to dance events, but also offers intimate concerts such as “Fandango at the Tango” every Sunday night. The Towpath Café, 6 N. Main St., Fairport, (585) 377-0410, has a Thursday night singer-songwriter series. Perched right on the wedge of the Neighborhood of the Arts District is Starry Nites Cafe at 696 University Ave., (585) 271-2630, a tiny space with room for a guitar or two.

Java’s, 16 Gibbs St., (585) 232-5282, is not a bar, but it’s a great spot to watch 16-year-old musicians and Eastman School of Music students as they try to grow goatees. A similar Euro-bohemian hangout, minus the bands and poets, but with beer and wine, is Café Cibon, 688 Park Ave., (585) 461-2960.

Outside of the city

One of the more active venues to arrive in the past few years has been Lovin’ Cup Brews & Bistro, 300 Park Point Drive, Henrietta, off Jefferson Road near the Rochester Institute of Technology campus, (585) 292-9940.

Along with a busy lineup of local musicians, national acts include the flower-era singer-songwriter Melanie on May 7, the charming duo of ex-punk Reckless Eric and singer-songwriter Amy Rigby May 8, and on May 14 James McCartney, whose father Paul has fashioned a few hits in his day.

Local jazz acts play Bistro 135, 135 W. Commercial St., East Rochester (585) 662-5555. The Juke Box, 5435 W. Ridge Road, Parma, (585) 352-4505, was once a country place, but has gone rock and roll.

The Harmony House, 58 E. Main St., Webster, is home to several local groups using it for shows, most notably The Rochester Cajun Zydeco Network (rochesterzydeco. com).

The Heartland Concerts folk series, (heartlandconcerts.org), previously a tenant there, has shifted to the Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Road, Greece. It features folkies such as Zen cowboy Chuck Pyle May 4 and, for the start of the fall season, the harmonizing trio Brother Sun Sept. 15.

In the same rootsy vein, the 40-year-old Golden Link Folk Singing Society (goldenlink.org) keeps an active calendar, mostly of local performers.

But the group does step up to the national scene, including the female string trio and harmony trio Red Molly May 11 at Rochester Christian Reformed Church, 2750 Atlantic Ave., Penfield.

Back in the city, Café Veritas is a coffeehouse-style venue at First Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Road. It offers the psychedelic old folkie Shawn Phillips on June 1.

Other sights to behold

Howie Nielsen has expanded his Sticky Lips BBQ empire from the Culver Road rib house to a second location, Sticky Lips BBQ Juke Joint, 830 Jefferson Road, Henrietta, (585) 292-5544. Same menu as the Culver Road restaurant, same expansive beer collection, same garage-clutter decor. But unlike the original, the juke joint has an excellent new music room, featuring weekend rock and blues.

This blend of smoked meat and music seems to work in Rochester, most notably downtown at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 99 Court St., (585) 325-7090. Housed in an old railroad terminal, Dinosaur not only altered the downtown music scene, but its billowing mesquite-wood smokers altered how the city smells.

It also offers blues and rock Wednesday through Saturday. Mixing those ribs with harder rock is NOLA’s BBQ, 4775 Lake Ave., (585) 663-3375.

Marge’s Lakeside Inn, 4909 Culver Road, Irondequoit, (585) 323-1020, is a kitschy mother lode of cocktail clutter. After the alcohol starts to kick in, everyone grabs for annoying percussion instruments to play along with Eydie Gorme on the ancient jukebox. The live bands on the back deck, overlooking Lake Ontario, are worth it, even if you’ve had enough of Jimmy Buffett. Almost as odd is L&M Lanes, 873 Merchants Road, (585) 288-1210. Its ancient bowling lanes are still put to use, as is the surprisingly nice selection of beers. The Goth crowd hangs upside-down at the elegant Vertex, 169 N. Chestnut St., (585) 232-5498.

The most-authentic country bar in the area is actually right downtown. Sandra’s Saloon, 276 Smith St., (585) 546-5474, right where Lyell hits State Street, is packed with authentic characters, clutter and real honky-tonk music.

But only when Sandra decides she wants to be open — usually Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Opened in 1969, one of the oldest bars in the area is the California Brew Haus, 402 W. Ridge Road, Greece, (585) 621-1480. Once known for what was once said to be the world’s largest selection of beers, the club still has enough to ponder.

The Brew Haus features live music on the weekends; usually it’s local, occasionally it’s something semi-national. Smokin’ Joe’s Bar & Grill, 425 Lyell Ave., (585) 647-1540, certainly feels like one of the area’s oldest bars, and is a fine place to find blues on the weekend. Rab’s Woodshed, 4440 Lake Ave., (585) 663-4610, is where bikers and weekend blues mix.

Lake Ontario is the backdrop for bars such as Silk O’Loughlin’s, 5980 St. Paul Blvd., Irondequoit, (585) 266-7047; and Pelican’s Nest, 566 River St., (585) 663-5910. Close enough to the lake is Shamrock Jack’s, 4554 Culver Road, (585) 323-9310, with weekend rock bands.

For Irish souls, Caverly’s Irish Pub, 741 South Ave., (585) 278-1289, is run by Dan Caverly, the son of immigrants from County Cork. Johnny’s Irish Pub, 1382 Culver Road, (585) 224-0990, offers a steady schedule of Guinness and live bands, not all of them Irish.